Good morning. I call the meeting to order.
Welcome to meeting number 9 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities.
Today's meeting is taking place in a hybrid format pursuant to the House order of November 25, 2021. Members are attending in the room and by Zoom. As you are aware, the webcast will always show the person speaking rather than the entirety of the committee.
Given the ongoing pandemic situation, and in light of the recommendations from the health authorities as well as the directive of the Board of Internal Economy on October 19, 2021, to remain healthy and safe, all those attending the meeting in person shall abide by the appropriate rules. As the chair, I will be enforcing these measures for the duration of the meeting, and I thank members in advance for their co-operation.
To ensure an orderly meeting, I would like to outline a few of the rules.
Members and witnesses may speak in the official language of their choice. Interpretation services are available for this meeting. You have the choice at the bottom of your screen of either floor, French or English audio. If interpretation is lost, inform me immediately and we will ensure interpretation is properly restored before resuming the proceedings. The “raise hand” feature at the bottom of the screen can be used at any time if you wish to speak or to alert the chair.
For members participating in person, proceed as you usually would when the whole committee is meeting in person in a committee room. Keep in mind the Board of Internal Economy's guidelines for mask use and health protocols.
Before speaking, please wait until I recognize you by name. If you are on video conference, please click on the microphone icon to unmute yourself. For those in the room, your microphones will be controlled by the verification officer. When speaking, please speak slowly and clearly. When you are not speaking, your mike should be on mute. I will remind you that all comments should be addressed through the chair. With regard to a speaking list, the committee clerk and I will do the best we can to maintain a consolidated order of speaking for all members, whether they are participating virtually or in person. Please do not be shy to remind me.
Today's meeting is a briefing on the ministerial mandate letters.
Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2) and the motion adopted by the committee on January 31, the committee will proceed to a briefing on the ministerial mandate letters. I would like to welcome our witnesses to begin our discussion with five minutes of opening remarks, followed by questions.
Appearing will be the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Housing, Diversity and Inclusion; Romy Bowers from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation; Mala Khanna from the Department of Canadian Heritage; and Janet Goulding, associate assistant deputy minister, Office of Infrastructure of Canada.
Before we begin, I would like some direction from the committee, as it is my understanding that we may have to suspend briefly for voting. There are 30-minute bells, but since everybody has the option of voting by distance, if it's the wish of the committee we would suspend for the last 10 minutes just prior to the vote so committee members can participate virtually in the vote.
Before we begin, then, I would seek agreement to extend the first hour by the amount of time that we are suspended for the vote. Is that agreeable to the committee?
